Alyn Evans is the production director for Potter Craft. Since she is also a passionate crafter, one of things she loves about working on Potter Craft titles is that she gets to see what’s new before anyone else, she said.

Making jewelry is one of my favorite ways to craft, so I’m often tempted to check out our jewelry making books first, but the unusual approach of Kumihimo Wire Jewelry—a modern look at a traditional technique—along with beautiful photos and detailed instructions, are what inspired me to try this ancient braiding technique.

I’ve had a great time experimenting with kumihimo. To make my braids I’m using a Hamanaka kumihimo disk, which is inexpensive and made from a lightweight foam, so it’s easy to handle.

As the author recommends, I tried making several of the braiding structures with fiber before moving to wire so I could learn how to control the tension of the threads and learn the various braiding “moves,” with the goal of creating braids on my own. The samples shown here were made with materials I had at hand, including some seam binding from my stash, strips of inexpensive tulle fabric, and various cords and laces. I was pleased and surprised at the results, which don’t look like practice projects made from scrap—they’re really beautiful!

Once I’d made those practice braids, I was ready to move on to working with wire. I’ve since made two projects with 28-gauge wire, which is very thin: one using two colors of wire, and the other with silver wire that wraps around a black core.

Kumihimo is an addictive craft! Once you get the braid structures down, it’s exciting to see how different materials work in the braids. I can’t wait to get home tonight to work on my current project—a copper wire braid with a hollow core.

For more about Alyn, check out her “Meet Potter Craft” profile.

Categories: Jewelry |

Tags: braiding, Giovanna Imperia, Hamanaka, jewelrymaking, Kumihimo, Kumihimo Wire Jewelry

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